


The Truth

by townshend



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Ficlet, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-13
Updated: 2011-03-13
Packaged: 2017-10-16 22:11:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/169883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/townshend/pseuds/townshend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Desmond has an opportunity to understand, but should he take it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Truth

He'd been running around Florence when he'd seen it - _"Stop there,"_ Shaun said, having seen it too. _"Another one of those crazy symbols... check it out, Desmond."_

The glyph glowed hot white against brick, and Desmond reached out, fingers brushing it. As soon as he did, it was like a whirl of code came out, enveloping him, peeling back the layers of Ezio's Italy and leaving him in a dark, black hole. White bits of code - binary, hex, something Desmond didn't recognize - swirled past, too fast for Desmond to read, let alone comprehend.

"But- but that's how it _always_ is, isn't it?" a voice asked. It was familiar by now - Sixteen, the "subject" before him. But before his messages had always been pre-recorded... now, he sounded almost as if he was answering Desmond's thoughts. "You can't- no matter, heh, no matter _what_ I do, you **don't understand.** " He sounded frustrated, and his voice was getting louder and quieter with each syllable.

Desmond felt an ache in the pit of his stomach - he wished he _could_ understand. He wished he could throw a switch in his brain and make sense out of Sixteen, just once. But once he threw that switch, would he ever be able to go back? Or would he be trapped in a descent into madness, trapped forever in his own ancestors' memories like Sixteen?

"It's- i-it- it's _okay_ ," Sixteen said, slowly, and through the code, Desmond suddenly saw a hand reach out, fingertips outstretched, beckoning. "I'll show you." He laughed. "I'll _show_ you, Desmond."

 _"I don't think this is a good idea,"_ Lucy said, suddenly. _"Desmond, are you there? Can you hear me?"_

But Desmond ignored her. He reached out, his hand in Sixteen's, letting the other man pull him through the code and closer to the Truth.


End file.
